from Tuscany, Italy
Zuppa Toscana
Creamy Tuscan soup of sausage, kale and potato
a note before you start
A one-pot Tuscan supper the whole table gathers over. Crispy bacon bits for smoke, mild Italian sausage, tender potatoes, ribbons of kale, and just enough cream to gloss it all together.
the market
Grocery
list.
Quantities scale live as you change the servings dial (bottom right).
- 016 slicesThick-cut bacon, chopped
- 021 lbMild Italian sausage, casings removed
- 031 pcYellow onion, diced
- 045 clovesGarlic, minced
- 05½ tspRed chili flakes
- 061 ½ lbYukon gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch half-moons
- 076 cupsChicken broth
- 084 cupsLacinato (Tuscan) kale, stripped and torn
- 091 cupHeavy cream
- 10½ cupParmesan, finely grated
- 111 to tasteKosher salt & black pepper
now, the cooking
One step at a time.
Step 1 of 7· 10 min
Render the bacon
Add chopped bacon to a cold heavy pot and set over medium heat. Cook slowly, stirring, until the fat renders out and the bits are deeply crisp — 8 to 10 minutes. Lift the bacon out with a slotted spoon and reserve; leave the fat in the pot. This is your smoky foundation.
Step 2 of 7· 8 min
Brown the sausage
Turn heat to medium-high and add the sausage straight into the bacon fat. Break it up with a spoon and cook, stirring, until deeply browned in spots — 6 to 8 minutes. The fond on the pot's bottom is flavour insurance.
Step 3 of 7· 5 min
Sweat the aromatics
Lower the heat to medium. Add onion, cook 4 minutes until translucent. Stir in garlic and chili flakes, cook 45 seconds until fragrant.
Step 4 of 7· 15 min
Simmer the potatoes
Add potatoes and broth. Scrape the bottom clean. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a lively simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Step 5 of 7· 3 min
Add the kale
Stir in the kale and simmer 3 minutes more, just until the leaves collapse and turn glossy — you want them tender, not army-green.
Step 6 of 7· 3 min
Finish with cream
Reduce heat to low. Stir in the cream and half the parmesan. Warm through without boiling. Taste, then salt and pepper hard.
Step 7 of 7· 2 min
Serve
Ladle into wide bowls. Shower the rest of the parmesan and the crispy reserved bacon on top, then a final crack of black pepper. A hunk of crusty bread on the side is not optional.
chef’s tip
“Render the bacon low and slow — you want deeply crisp bits and a pot of glossy fat to build the whole soup on. That smoky bottom is the whole point.”